Anxious about Nassau finances
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano appears in Mineola. (March 22, 2011) Credit: Howard Schnapp
I am thrilled that State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Diamond upheld the right of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority to impose financial controls on the county [Revised budget for Nassau due," News, March 22]. Where would we be without this board?
In October 2010, the legislature passed County Executive Edward Mangano's "Common Sense Act," which is a ticking time bomb for school taxes. Although the schools have until 2013 before the impact will be felt in huge school tax increases, Nassau County gets to claim in 2011 that the budget is balanced! How? By transferring the liability for all property tax assessment errors (grievances) to the 56 school district budgets in Nassau County.
The school districts have banded together to fight this atrocity. This is smoke and mirrors, not common sense. Our only hope is that NIFA can demand change.
Karen Fetty
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano's practice of continuing the policy of counting borrowed money as revenue would make any "fiscal conservative" blush in shame. Unwilling to make the hard decisions to eliminate the county's deficit, he now has "apologized" in a letter to county employees for labor cuts being "forced" on him by NIFA ["Blame NIFA for layoffs, Mangano tells workers," News, March 18].
Mr. Mangano becomes just another in a long line of politicians who promise much, fail to deliver and then blame someone else. So much for profiles in courage.
Jack Pepitone
I would like to ask NIFA two questions. The first is whether it will be issuing a report based on its audit of Nassau County finances. I have long had serious doubts about the county executive's intentions and fiscal prudence. He promised that he would never repeal the county guarantee to pay assessment grievances until the assessment process is revamped -- and then repealed the county guarantee before revamping assessments. And I'm very afraid of how he would redo assessments.
The one thing Mangano has undoubtedly mastered, however, is spin. That's why I think taxpayers deserve an objective budget report.
My second question is, does the county charter have a mechanism for recalling the county executive?
Marlene Davis
Does anybody in the Nassau County hierarchy understand accounting 101? Borrowed money is not revenue!
Dave Beldner
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